The Dead Future
by WallofIllusion
Summary: Did you ever wonder why the future Isis saw was filled with despair? Maybe this is the reason... rated for character death and suicide attempt. Chapter two: Rishid wakes up!
1. Chapter 1

As I announced on deviantart, the alternate title to this fanfiction is "worry and you die". No part of this has to do with my own emotions, except that the only reason I wrote it is I'm extremely morbid.

FINE I'll use the header for scene changes. Why can't they just use a normal double enter! Hmph. That means the scene changes I've been inserting in Choking haven't been working either, huh? Stupid things...

* * *

_It's almost over._

Isis noticed that her heart was beating unnaturally hard. _How odd_, she thought. _I don't feel frightened at all._

She had known about this for a long time, after all.

She laid a card onto her Duel Disk. "Zolga in defense mode," she announced softly. "I end my turn."

Her opponent, the demon-like personality that controlled her brother, threw back his head and laughed. "Is that the best you can do, dear sister?"

Isis stared calmly into the eyes of her enemy. "I'm not your sister," she told him.

"I see resignation in your eyes, sister!" he taunted, ignoring her statement. "Good! Accept your fate of death!" He drew a card and a Slime Token appeared on the field, joining the two that were already there. "You know what comes next, don't you? I summon the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra!"

_I know what's coming better than you think._ Isis could feel the heavy weight of the Millennium Necklace around her neck. _I know exactly how this will end…_

He was chanting, awakening Ra from its golden sphere.

_It's over, isn't it?_ Isis thought. _There's no hope left now._ Her heart was pounding, but she felt strangely calm. Everything was happening just as she had seen it.

Her opponent met her eyes and his lips curled into a sneer. "You're going to die," he said, sounding very pleased.

For a brief moment, his face warped into an expression of panic and concern, but then the sneer was back. He began to chant again.

Isis closed her eyes. Her entire body was shaking, and she began to feel fear. She almost wished she had never followed the deadly vision that she was obeying right now. But she thought of the flash of panic that had appeared on her opponent's face. Malik had tried to break free and protect Isis—but he had been too weak.

_You will have enough strength soon, my brother_, Isis promised.

The chanting stopped. Ra's transformation into its Phoenix form was complete. Isis could feel the white-hot power radiating from the beast, could hear the monster's breath as it prepared to attack. She clenched her fists.

Then the attack hit her.

She screamed, her voice barely audible over the rush of unnatural flames. The fire danced around her, leaving burns on her skin and her soul. She fell to her hands and knees.

_Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop…!_

After an impossibly long time, the attack ended. There was stillness for a few moments as Isis, breathing shallowly, tried to recover. Her arms gave out and she collapsed.

"ISIS!" screamed a voice.

Though she was barely conscious, Isis recognized the voice as her brother's. _It worked_, she thought in relief.

Suddenly, Malik was kneeling next to her, despite shouts of protest from the duel's referee.

"Isis! Get up!" Malik cried, speaking in the Egyptian that they had learned as children. He shook her. "Get up, please!"

With great effort, Isis opened her eyes and gave her brother a smile. "You're free…" she said in the same language as he, her voice hoarse. "I'm so glad…"

She looked into Malik's eyes. They were wide with the same panic and concern as she had seen before. "Isis, are you okay?" he asked.

"Nn-nn," Isis mumbled in reply, shaking her head slightly.

Malik's eyes grew even wider. He looked around desperately. "A doctor!" he shouted in Japanese. "Someone get a doctor for my sister! Hurry!"

"It's already too late," Isis told him quietly. "They can't help me."

"You're wrong!" Malik insisted. "You'll be fine! You're going to be fine!"

"No. This is how… I saw it."

"Wh-what?" Malik asked weakly. He stared at Isis in numb disbelief. "You… you saw that you would… that you would—" He shook his head, unable to say the word. "And you came anyway? You still followed fate!"

Isis lifted her hand and placed it on Malik's lips to quiet him. "It wasn't for fate's sake… that I came this time, little brother." She watched as realization dawned in Malik's eyes.

"No," he whispered. "_No!_ Isis, why… h-how could you… Hey!"

Almost out of strength, Isis had closed her eyes. She felt very tired. Perhaps she would go to sleep…

"Isis, no!" Malik shook her again. "You can't—!"

Slightly reluctant, Isis opened her eyes and looked at her brother. "Malik… there's something… before I…"

"Stop!" Malik interrupted her. "Don't say it. D-don't…"

Isis gave him a weak smile of pity. "I have to tell you something, Malik."

"What?"

Isis took a deep breath. It made her chest hurt. "It wasn't the Pharaoh… who killed our father."

"What?" Malik whispered in disbelief. "Then _who_?"

"It was your… dark personality," Isis explained softly. "Can you… remember…?"

There was silence for almost a minute. Isis tried not to look at her brother's shocked face. Finally, Malik asked in a choked voice, "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"We wanted to… protect you…" Isis replied, regret evident in her voice. "Please… believe me. We wanted you to… be happy. Please forgive us… for lying…" A single tear fell from her eye. "I'm so sorry… for everything."

Malik hastily wiped her tear away. "I forgive you!" he exclaimed. "Of course I forgive you, sister!"

Isis tried to smile one last time, but she didn't have the strength for it. So she simply whispered, "Good. I'm… glad…" Then she let her heavy, heavy eyelids fall shut.

"No…" she heard Malik say. "No, Isis, please… please don't…"

His voice sounded so far away. Isis thought she felt him take her hand, but she wasn't sure. "I love you, Malik," she whispered with the last of her strength. Then she slipped away on the blackness.

* * *

"Isis…" Malik breathed, struggling not to believe what he knew was true. "Isis… open your eyes…" He rubbed her hand, trying to bring his sister to her senses. "Please, Isis…!"He was aware of other people for the first time since he had awoken—Yuugi, Jonouchi, Anzu, Otogi, Honda, and Shizuka were all watching him silently. But it didn't matter. All that mattered was Isis. 

The doctors came to bring her to the medical room. Malik followed them like a lost dog, shaking, still trying to deny the truth. _She'll be fine. The doctors will make her fine._

It was so cold in the medical room. Malik rubbed his bare arms and watched as a doctor laid Isis on a gurney and hooked her up to strange machines.

The examination took only a few minutes. Then the doctor disconnected the machines, and Malik felt as though things were going in reverse, erasing themselves. _Yes… please…_ he thought. _Erase everything that just happened… Please bring her back…_

"I'm sorry," the doctor said, looking away.

The truth finally hit. Malik closed his eyes, partly to keep out the pitying face of the doctor, partly to keep in the tears that threatened to fall. _Isis…_

Then he remembered, and his eyes flew open. "Wh-what about my brother?"

A blank, questioning stare. "Who?"

"Rishid," Malik clarified shakily. "Duelist number two. Is… is he…" He could barely speak. What if Rishid, too, had…?

"Oh," the doctor said, finally understanding, "I'm not really sure what happened to him. Although he's fine physically, he's been in a coma since last night."

Malik's stomach clenched. "Please… can I take Isis to his room and…" _And be with both at once, for the first time in so long, and for the last time…_

The doctor smiled sadly at Malik. "Of course," he said softly. "Please do. Be with your siblings."

So Malik pulled the cold gurney to Rishid's room. He flinched as he saw his brother lying on the bed, breathing raggedly. Swallowing tears, he set up a stool between the bed and the gurney and sat, hunched over, flanked by his beloved siblings.

_Isis is dead._

_Isis is dead._

The thought came over and over again, repeating its cruel chant in Malik's mind.

_Isis is dead, and it's my fault._

She had willingly gone to her death, simply to give Malik the strength to break free from his dark side. Malik shuddered.

_Why would she do that for me?_

_And Rishid, too…_

Rishid was only hurt because Malik had commanded him to play the fake God Card.

"You shouldn't do anything for me," Malik mumbled to no one in particular. "Don't… don't try to help me… I don't want to hurt you…"

Suddenly, the public address system came on.

"**The final duel between Yuugi Mutou and Malik Ishtar will take place in five minutes. Will the duelists please be on the duel stage by that time. Repeat: the final duel between Yuugi Mutou and Malik Ishtar will take place in five minutes."**

Malik listened but did not respond. He no longer had any desire to duel the Pharaoh. He would rather stay here, with his brother and sister.

After all, his hatred had come from a lie. Father, too, had died because of Malik. Since Malik couldn't control his own hatred and anger, it had become a separate self and rose to destroy everything Malik cared for.

_But I'm doing that even better than he is. Everyone I love keeps getting hurt…_

It was Malik's fault, all his fault… Soon he might be completely alone, and it would be his own fault.

_Alone._ Malik couldn't bear the thought. Tears came to his eyes and finally he let them fall freely. He cried like a child, his sobs filling the room for several minutes, as accusatory words danced like fire in his brain.

_Everyone I love… everyone who cares about me… everyone gets hurt because of me_, he thought bitterly. _I have to… I have to make sure that doesn't happen again. But how…_

Malik suddenly sat up straight as a solution occurred to him. _Could… could I do that…?_

He took the Millennium Rod out of his belt loop and looked at it. Then he twisted it slightly—very slightly—and the bottom half came off, revealing a gleaming dagger.

_This is all I need._

He let the sheath drop to the floor and ran his finger lightly along the edge of the blade, testing its sharpness. The knife, though barely touching his finger, broke the skin, and he hissed quietly in pain and surprise. Blood started to fall from the thin line, and he watched it, shivering.

It would be so easy to do. A single, careful stab, perhaps a few moments of pain—pain that Malik certainly deserved—and then nothing.

_So easy…_

But what of Rishid? What if he woke up? Malik's face felt hot as he thought of it. He would be too ashamed to face his brother now, after almost causing his death. No, it would be better if Malik were gone by then, better if Malik had already made up for that sin.

But he could leave something for Rishid, to tell him that he was not forgotten. And Malik knew exactly what to leave. He glanced down at his Duel Disk; Ra was still on it, the hieratic long since faded to invisibility again.

Malik took the God Card off the Duel Disk and laid it next to Rishid's head. "You don't have to be my shadow anymore, big brother," he whispered, tears coming to his eyes again. "You can be the real Malik now. I bet you can do it better than I did."

He kneeled on the floor between his two siblings, clutched the Rod's dagger with shaking hands, and offered a quick prayer to Ra.

Everything was ready.

* * *

To say that Yuugi and his friends were puzzled when Malik didn't show up to duel would be an understatement. No one could understand it—until Yuugi suggested in a tentative voice that it might have to do with Isis's death. 

Everyone was silent for a minute. Then, unanimously, they decided to go check on Malik. First they went to the medical room; the doctor informed them that Malik was in room number two.

As they headed in that direction, Jonouchi found himself watching Shizuka. He couldn't imagine what Malik was going through… couldn't imagine living without his sister.

They reached room two and Yuugi pushed the door open quietly. He drew in a horrified gasp. "Malik, no!" he cried, running forward.

Malik was sitting on the floor, the Rod's dagger in his hands and pointed at his chest. When he heard Yuugi's cry, he looked up, his eyes wide and panicked. He clutched the Rod protectively. "Don't try to stop me," the Egyptian whispered. "Don't try…"

"What are you doing?" Honda asked incredulously. Everyone crowded into the room, forming a semi-circle around Malik.

"I'm tired of hurting people," Malik said shakily. "I don't want anyone else to die. Isis died to save me, when I'm not even worth saving… And Rishid… Rishid's probably going to die too, and that's my stupid fault… I m-made him play that card…"

Yuugi moved forward, hands outstretched. "Please, Malik, don't…" he said desperately. "You don't want to do this…"

"Yes I do!" the Egyptian shouted, almost hysterical. "Let me die!"

Shizuka buried her face in Jonouchi's chest, sobbing, and Jonouchi put his arms around her. He watched the scene in front of him in disbelief.

Yuugi was trying to take the Millennium Rod from Malik, but the Egyptian had a firm grip. The two were locked in a deadly tug-of-war that went on for minutes. Finally, Malik managed to push Yuugi backwards.

Looking even more panicked than before, Malik held the Rod tightly and cried, "I said let me die! If you try to stop me I'll kill you!"

He mumbled something in another language, tears forming in his eyes as he looked from his brother to Isis. Then he raised the knife again.

Suddenly, a strong voice commanded, "Stop, Malik." Every eye in the room turned towards the other Yuugi, who had emerged again. Even Malik hesitated, an odd change coming over him.

"It's you," he said quietly. He paused briefly, and then whispered, "Let me die."

"Why should I do that?" the other Yuugi asked.

"Death is what I deserve!" Malik laughed abruptly. "Go on! Tell me I don't deserve it! I tried to kill you… kidnapped your friends… turned them against you… I betrayed my family… caused my sister so much pain… let my own brother suffer in order to further my selfish plans… You can't tell me that I deserve to live!"

"Your sister thought you did," said the other Yuugi firmly.

Malik suddenly pointed the knife at him. "Don't try to tell me what my sister thought," he cried. "Don't you dare talk to me about her!"

"Does your sister's sacrifice mean nothing to you?" the other Yuugi asked scornfully.

Furiously, Malik brought the knife to his enemy's throat. "How dare you ask such a thing? You have no understanding of what she did!"

The other Yuugi pushed the knife away. "She gave her life so that you would be free," he said, "and now you're willing to completely throw away the life that she died to protect?"

Malik paused, shaken. "She d-d-died to defeat my other self," he insisted. "That's why she gave her l-life. But he's still there. He won't be gone until I'm dead. I have to…"

"You don't actually believe that, do you?" the other Yuugi challenged, his voice hard. But his eyes were a little sad. "Her sacrifice was for _you_. Can't you tell?"

There was a long silence. Malik stared at the ground, trembling badly. "S-so many people… so many were hurt because of me…" he protested.

"You're making excuses."

"But I don't deserve to live," Malik pleaded weakly.

"Your sister's sacrifice mandates that you must."

Finally, the Millennium Rod dropped from Malik's hands. He began to cry.

"I don't want to live on alone," he whispered.

Yuugi's face returned to normal and he put his hand on the Egyptian's shoulder. "Malik…"

Malik pushed the hand away and shook his head. He was beyond comfort. "Please go," he begged.

Yuugi glanced around for advice, still worried about Malik's safety.

"I w-won't do that again," Malik promised. His eyes scanned the ground and he picked up the Rod's lower half from where it had fallen. He slid it back onto the Rod, hesitated, and then offered it to Yuugi. "Here. Take it. I… I have to give it to you anyway. That's… part of my destiny…"

Yuugi accepted it uncertainly. After a moment, he stood. "Are you sure you don't want anyone to be here with you?"

Malik nodded. "Please go," he said again.

So everyone trailed out somberly. Yuugi was the last to leave, and before he closed the door, he said, "Malik?"

The Egyptian looked up. Yuugi was struck by how empty Malik's eyes were, how devoid of hope. He swallowed tears of pity and said quietly, "I don't think you deserve to die."

* * *

I wrote this a while ago, actually. But I've been worried about posting it. I worried that people would worry. But there's no reason for them to worry, because I'll worried if you worry. Ignore me, I had a lot of sugar.  



	2. Chapter 2

Look, more Dead Future! Rishid wakes up! This first section was... evil to format. Oh, and there's a curse word in here! Very unusual for me. I don't really like to curse, but... Malik is quite frustrated and sad at the time.

Yeah, right now I'm just babbling so on to the disclaimer...

I don't own YGO. At least not the concept. I do, however, own every single chapter of the manga in at least one form, and yes, I DO like saying that over and over again.

* * *

Someone was crying.  
...  
...  
Heartbroken sobs every now and then, with steady sniffles in between... Who was it?  
...  
...  
It seemed familiar, somehow.  
...Had he heard this person crying before?  
...  
...  
It seemed important to comfort him.  
...Why? Who was it?  
...  
...  
Why couldn't he remember? His mind was working so slowly.  
But it seemed so familiar.  
...  
He wanted to open his eyes and look, but— 

...He didn't have the strength for it...  
...  
"_Rishid, please—"_  
...said the tearful voice.  
..."_Please wake up. I need you. Please…"_  
...  
It was Malik-sama……!  
...  
What was wrong? Why was he—The other personality...  
...  
It must have come out—... right?  
Because Rishid hadn't been there to stop it.  
...  
What had it done? ...The idea was terrible to contemplate.   
Nothing good, Rishid was sure.  
...Malik-sama needed Rishid's help.  
...  
Malik-sama… Rishid wanted to speak out loud, but he was so weak.  
What had happened to him…?  
...  
…That's right. The fake Ra card.  
...  
It hadn't accepted Rishid as one of the Gravekeepers' clan…… ...  
...  
...  
...  
But there was no time to feel despair.  
...  
Malik-sama needed him. Rishid had to wake up and help his master. He couldn't bear to hear Malik-sama cry any longer.  
...  
He tried to open his eyes again.  
No luck.  
He was so tired…

But there was nothing to do but to keep trying…  
Keep trying. He had to wake up.  
Keep trying.  
Keep…

* * *

With a great effort, Rishid opened his eyes and sat up in bed.

"_Rishid_!" Malik's voice cried. "Rishid… You're alive…"

Rishid turned his head towards the boy. Malik stood by the bed, tears still evident in his eyes. "I thought you were going to die…" he said weakly. "And it would have been my fault… I thought… Rishid, I'm so…"

Rishid managed a trembling smile. "I wouldn't leave you alone like that, Malik-sama."

Malik tried and failed to return the smile. "Rishid… S-so much happened while you were… unconscious," he said. He indicated a spot on the bed, next to Rishid. "Can I sit?"

"Certainly."

Rishid watched his master sadly as the boy sat down on the bed. Malik seemed unsure where to begin, so Rishid prompted softly, "Did the other personality come out?"

Malik shivered. "Yes." He was silent for a long moment. "It… _hurt_," he said. "Like… It felt like something was strangling my brain, just… squeezing it and making me unable to think. And I could hear him… laughing… And then the pain was gone, and I couldn't hear him anymore, and I was… nowhere."

Another extended pause. "The next thing I remember…" Suddenly Malik froze. After several ragged breaths, he stuttered, "H-hey, Rishid, g-guess who the e-eighth d-duelist was…"

"Who?" Rishid asked.

"It was Isis. Still… still interfering in… _Damnit_, why couldn't she just learn to stay _out_ of these things!" Malik put his face in his hands, shoulders shaking. "Then she wouldn't have…"

Rishid froze too, distantly afraid. "Malik-sama… what happened?"

In a minute, Malik's tears slowed and he started speaking again. "…She… dueled Seto Kaiba first. She won. Her whole 'Reversed Worlds' and 'Blast Held by a Tribute' strategy… But when she first appeared, I sort of… woke up a little. I wanted to… get out and talk to her. I don't know. I just wanted… I tried to escape his control. I tried to get her to hear my voice. But he was too strong.

"And then… It was the next day—today—and _he_ was dueling her. He… he made it so that I could see what was going on, but I couldn't do anything… just watch… The whole time I was shouting at him and at her, hoping she'd be able to hear me. And then he kept telling her what I was saying, taunting her because he didn't think she'd be able to free me…"

"But she _did_ free you, didn't she, Malik-sama?" Rishid guessed. After all, that must be what had happened; Isis must have defeated the dark personality and restored Malik to control…

Malik didn't answer for a long time. He only sat with eyes blank, taking unsteady breaths.

"…Malik-sama…?"

"He summoned Ra," Malik whispered finally. "It has more powers than we'd realized. He turned it into a phoenix. I tried… I tried to stop him… I was even in control for a second, but he shoved me aside and… attacked…

"Phoenix Ra can… destroy one monster on the field—burn it to death—but… in a game of darkness in which the player is linked to the monster, the player… receives the same pain… the s-same mental damage…" He shuddered. "When the attack finished, Isis… collapsed, and suddenly I was at her side, trying to make her get up—_me_, not my other self… I don't even remember taking control. I was just so… scared for her…"

Malik trailed off. He sounded close to tears again.

"Malik-sama… where is Isis-sama now?" Rishid asked hesitantly. He knew vaguely that there was another question he should be asking, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that one…

Malik tried several times to speak, but eventually he gave up and gestured wordlessly across the room.

For the first time, Rishid noticed a gurney next to his bed. And in the gurney, with her eyes closed and a peaceful expression on her face, lay Isis.

Drawn by curiosity and fear, Rishid left his bed and stood by the gurney. He stared at Isis for a few moments, not comprehending, and then the fact of how still she was became too clear to ignore and his blood went cold. "No…"

Rishid's face twisted in disbelieving sorrow. He turned to face Malik, hoping his master would tell him that it wasn't true, but the suffering in Malik's eyes only confirmed his fears.

Isis was dead.

Rishid bowed his head, feeling tears come to his eyes and spill over. "Isis-sama…" he whispered. He hadn't spoken to her in three years—not since he and Malik had left home. For all that time, they had been unwilling enemies.

And now Isis was dead. He would _never_ speak to her again. Never…

"She knew."

Malik's voice, distant and blunt, came from behind Rishid. "She saw with that stupid Necklace that this was going to happen. And she still _came_. She followed fate to her _death_. She… how can she……"

His voice started to shake. Stifling his own tears, Rishid returned to the bed and put his arm around Malik's shoulders.

"Rishid, I don't want her to be dead," Malik pleaded in a choked voice. He buried his head in Rishid's shoulder. "I never… I _never_ wanted her to die. I never even wanted to be her enemy! But now… Now she's gone …" Malik took in a trembling breath. "Rishid, I've lost. There's no question about it. I don't… have the will to keep fighting. Not after…" With a sigh, Malik announced quietly, "Isis told me the truth about Father, you know…"

Rishid shifted uncomfortably. "She did?"

"Yeah."

"I'm very sorry… the two of us have lied…"

"I know. It's okay. She told me why." Malik bit his lip and hesitated. "There's… something else I should tell you… a-another reason I can't hate Yuugi anymore… Rishid, before you woke up, I… I didn't know if you were _going_ to wake up, and… Isis was gone, and I was scared to live alone, so I… I was going to kill myself…"

Unconsciously, Rishid tightened his grip on Malik's shoulders. "Malik-sama…"

"But just before I could stab myself with the dagger in the Rod, th_-they_ came in and stopped me. Yuugi himself made an effort to talk me out of it. And… I suppose… it's thanks to him that I'm…"

Malik let his sentence hang, looking thoughtful. Then he shook his head slightly. "So—anyway—I can't really hate him after that… Right?"

"I certainly can't," Rishid replied softly. "I'm very grateful to him… I think to wake up and find you like that—" _(on the floor, dead, your own blood splattered everywhere and the knife in your hands)_ "—would have been… worse than I can imagine, Malik-sama."

"Yeah," Malik mumbled. "Sorry. It would have been… cowardly of me. But… Rishid, if you… if you'd never woken up, I think I'd do it again… even if I promised them that I wouldn't. They… may want me to live, but they don't know what it's like… to have the two people dearest to them…" Malik sighed heavily. "I've never been alone before, and then the thought of… just…"

Rishid held Malik tightly. The two were silent, lost in their own thoughts and sorrows. Minutes passed before Rishid finally inquired, "Malik-sama, what happens next?"

* * *

He stood at door number five with Rishid behind him. In one hand he held Ra and in the other, Obelisk and the Necklace.

Really, Malik had lost to Yuugi by forfeit and was required by the ante rule to give up Ra anyway. That was what he told himself, in an effort to quell the bitter nausea and pain of self-disgust.

But as for Isis's Millennium Necklace and her Obelisk card… he clutched those tightly, desperately. Malik didn't want to think of giving those to Yuugi, anymore than he wanted to remember how he'd had to search through Isis's deck to find Obelisk and remove the Necklace from her cold neck.

It felt like stealing, and it felt wrong. Those two artifacts were _Isis's_, and should have been until she lost them in a fair duel or chose to forfeit them. (Of course, she had lost a duel, but Malik didn't want to think about that either.)

Like everything else, however, it was part of his destiny as a Gravekeeper to give the Pharaoh's vessel the three God Cards and the two Millennium Items. And so he had to do it.

"Are you ready, Malik-sama?" Rishid asked gently.

"No," Malik replied, resentment in his voice, but he raised his hand and knocked on the door anyway.

To his surprise, Jonouchi was the one to answer the door. Malik cursed silently as he looked past the blonde boy and noted that the room was full of Yuugi's friends.

But he only met Jonouchi's eyes and stated, "There's something I need to do for Yuugi."

"Come on in," Jonouchi invited, glancing once at the objects Malik held. "You okay now?"

"Yeah, I guess." _As long as you don't count the fact that with every step I take I hate myself more or the fact that I feel like I'm going to throw up._

Malik entered the room, and when Rishid followed they heard Jonouchi gasp slightly.

"Oh, it's you!" the teen exclaimed. "Are _you_ okay? That attack from Ra really knocked you out…"

"Y… yes. I'm fine now," Rishid answered, sounding a little awkward.

Malik gave Jonouchi a smile, strangely appreciative of Jonouchi's concern for Rishid.

Then, steeling his will, Malik assumed a more serious expression and looked Yuugi—no, the spirit of the Pharaoh—in the face. He forced himself to meet his former enemy's eyes.

Even just that took all of his willpower. He was shaking, and he found it hard to breathe. All the hatred that he'd cultivated over the past five years swelled and boiled in his chest, commanding him to lash out and kill or to turn away and run out of the room—anything other than what he was about to do.

But he ignored it. He had to. "Yuugi," he said as firmly as he could manage, "it is time for me to fulfill the Ishtars'—_my_—final destiny."

As the rest watched, uncomprehending, Yuugi nodded and stood from his chair.

With an unwilling, clearly shaking hand, Malik held out Ra. "Take it," he ordered. "The God Card, Ra."

The god of the glorious, beautiful sun.

The god that had struck Isis with a killing blow.

And to Yuugi, it was little more than a card, one of three to be collected. Yuugi barely even understood the significance of collecting the gods.

All these thoughts crossed Malik's mind as Yuugi took Ra and looked at the card. Numbly, Malik watched Yuugi's eyes scan the card and then travel to Malik's other hand.

Where Isis's things were.

Malik gave a quiet sigh and raised his hand somewhat, but did not offer the Necklace or Obelisk to Yuugi quite yet. Instead he stared at them.

"This is the first time I've held Obelisk," he mused out loud. "She got to it before I could. I'm sure… she saw the future and took it. Because that was 'fate.' Because fate was so important to her." His hand started shaking, and he closed his eyes as they began to sting. He fought to keep his voice from choking. "And that's why… I have to give these two things to you, because I know she would have. She always followed fate. Right up until the end, she was following the path fate had set for her…"

His hand almost twitched forward—but it was so hard to give them up. They were _hers_. It was _her_ place to present them to the Pharaoh. Malik didn't want to step into that place… because that would mean acknowledging the fact that it was vacant.

"Malik…" said a feminine voice—Anzu—and Malik was surprised to hear pity. "Malik, if you can't do it yet, I think that's fine…"

"Yes," Yuugi was quick to second. "Malik, I understand if… if you want to do this later, once you've had more time to mourn…"

"No, I have to do this now," Malik replied hollowly. "I don't think I'd be able to come back."

He clutched Obelisk and the Necklace to his chest for a brief moment as Rishid's comforting hand squeezed his shoulder.

A piece of painted cardboard and a lump of gold—these were the two objects Isis had used to draw everything together to this inevitable, fated conclusion. Malik hated them for that; and yet they were hers, so he treasured them. He didn't want to give them away.

But when had his own feelings ever mattered to his fate?

Finally, he thrust his hand forward, eyes still closed. "The God of Obelisk—" he said jerkily, "and the Millennium Necklace—Pharaoh."

Yuugi hesitated.

"Take them!" Malik demanded, his voice strained. "Please…"

And the objects left his hand. He did not lower the hand for a moment; then he let it drop and made a fist, clenching it until he felt his nails dig into his skin.

He knew that Yuugi was probably taking out the third card, Osiris, to look at all three of the cards he had claimed—_stolen, stolen!_ insisted a part of his mind—from Malik. And Malik couldn't bear to watch that.

He had failed completely. As a result, all the bitterness and hatred he had once had for the Pharaoh were now aimed squarely at himself. _Don't give in!_ screamed every instinct. _Take them back, quickly! Don't follow your destiny!_

His mouth twisted back in a disgusted scowl. He felt spineless, cowardly, pathetic for complying with his fate.

And it wasn't over yet.

"There's—one more—" He stumbled over his words, barely managing to force them out. He tried not to feel everyone's eyes burn into him. "One more thing—my clan—protected the key—"

He stopped, breathing unevenly. He couldn't do it. He couldn't! It wasn't fair! To have to do this, after all the rest—it was too much. He was going to break. Hadn't he already suffered enough today?

He was already trembling unstoppably, bitterly aware of how long he'd been fighting against this exact scenario. He had decided years ago that it would never come to this—that he would kill himself before this could happen(1). But somehow nothing had gone as planned.

_And this isn't something you can take back_, something in his mind said. _If you change your mind, you can't steal back knowledge._

"Malik-sama…" Rishid squeezed Malik's shoulder. "Are you all right?"

Malik shook his head wearily. "I'm not," he answered in a shameful whisper. "But I don't have any choice."

Then, without giving himself a chance to think about anything else, Malik pulled his shirt over his head and turned away from Yuugi.

He heard gasps behind him—first of confusion, then of revulsion as everyone recognized the carvings covering his back for what they were.

"Oh my gosh…" Anzu said faintly. "Th-that must have… Ow…"

"Malik!" Yuugi's voice was demanding and bewildered. "What happened to your—what is this?"

"The key to the king's sealed memory," Malik explained as firmly and emotionlessly as he could. "It's… a message from a prophet who served the Pharaoh. The person who collects the three gods… the three God Cards… is proved to be the vessel of the Pharaoh. That's you, Yuugi. So you should be able to read this…"

How was he speaking so calmly? His heart was pounding frantically. With every breath he had to choke back tears of self-disgust and shame.

_You showed him. You SHOWED him! This can't be undone, you fool! It's all over!_

And that was true.

"It's all over now," Malik voiced his thoughts softly. "Everything…" Some of the hatred faded; now he felt defeated and numb. A little louder, he told Yuugi, "With these actions, my destiny has been fulfilled…"

He pulled his shirt back on and started towards the door, Rishid following obediently. He didn't turn to look at their faces.

But before he could leave, he heard the voice of the Pharaoh's vessel behind him.

"Malik… you can stay in here if you want," it invited.

Malik paused, his hand on the doorknob. "No," he said. "I don't think…"

Yuugi ran up and grabbed his arm. "Malik… Please. I don't want you to go shut yourself up in your room and be sad again. You can't help yourself that way. Stay here. I want us to be friends."

Malik pulled his arm from the eager boy's grasp. "I'm sorry," he apologized without emotion. "But I can't. I… want to start a new life completely. I don't want to have any connections to the old one. Even my name—I plan to change my name. And other than Rishid, I want to cut myself off from… everything. Everything that I've touched. So…"

Jonouchi spoke up. "Malik, that can't be the only way to do it," he protested.

"But it's what I want to do."

Malik left the room and returned calmly to Rishid's, knowing that Rishid was following right behind. He managed to hold on until he'd reached the room and closed the door.

Then, as he'd known it would, all his self-control shattered and he collapsed to the floor in tears.

And he didn't know if he'd ever be able to get up.

* * *

(1) Actually, the plan was that Rishid would kill Malik and then kill himself. Yes, I'm_ serious_. This is from the series. If you don't believe me, check out chapter two hundred of the manga.

About that last section: I really feel that Malik experienced some of those emotions in the series as it actually happened--the shame and self-disgust and everything. It can't have been easy for him.

And any phrases that seem similar to actual quotes from the series are probably intentional.


End file.
